Entomoplasma

In army ants Entomoplasma infections are generally absent from eggs and larvae, and thus these bacteria are suggested to act as gut associates (Funaro et al. 2011). Entomoplasma bacteria are shown to be slightly enriched among predatory ant genera, where they are suggested to have a non-essential, but specialized relationship with their hosts (Funaro et al. 2011, Anderson et al. 2012).

References

• Haapaniemi, K. and P. Pamilo. 2015. Social parasitism and transfer of symbiotic bacteria in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News. 21:49-57.
• Funaro, C. F., D. J. C. Kronauer, C. S. Moreau, B. Goldman-Huertas, N. E. Pierce, and J. A. Russell. 2011. Army ants harbor host-specific clades of Entomoplasmatales bacteria. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 77(1):346-350. doi:10.1128/AEM.01896-10